[Sca-cooks] Khabisa with Pomegranate

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

I don't like very sweet stuff, as i've said way too often on this 
list. So I have adapted this recipe to eat at breakfast at camping 
events. I cook it pretty much according to the recipe, but i don't 
coat it with sugar and make it into balls.

Khabisa with Pomegranate

ORIGINAL
Take half a ratl of sugar and put it in a metal or earthenware pot 
and pour in three ratls of juice of sweet table pomegranates and half 
an uqiya of rosewater, with a penetrating smell. Boil it gently and 
after two boilings, add half a mudd of semolina and boil it until the 
semolina is cooked. Throw in the weight of a quarter dirham of ground 
and sifted saffron, and three uqiyas of almonds. Put it in a dish and 
sprinkle over it the like of pounded sugar, and make balls 
[literally, hazelnuts] of this.

Cariadoc wrote:
>  A mudd is about four liters, or roughly a gallon, so a mudd of 
>semolina would weigh a little over four pounds.

A ratl is about 1 lb.
A pound of sugar = 2 cups
A pound of water = one pint = 2 cups (i used this for the juice, 
although it won't be identical to water)

An uqiya is 1/12 of a pound, i.e., 16/12 oz = 1-1/3 oz.
For the rosewater, 1-1/3 US liquid ounces = 8 tsp. Half of this is 4 
tsp = 1 Tb + 1 tsp. This is not exact as i don't know how close a 
liquid ounce is to a "solid" ounce.

A dirham is variable, but often shows up as about 40 per uqiya. So 
one dirham could be approx. 28/40 grams, i.e., seven tenths of a gram

As i interpret the quantities in the above recipe, i come up with:

1 cup sugar (1/2 ratl)
1-1/2 quarts pure unsweetened pomegranate juice (3 ratls)
1 Tb. and 1 tsp. rosewater (1/2 uqiya)
2 lb. semolina (NOT flour) i usually use fine, but medium should work 
(1/2 mudd)
a pinch ground saffron (1/4 dirham)
4 oz. almonds (3 uqiyas)
the like of pounded sugar (4 oz.?)

1. Put sugar, pomegranate juice, and rosewater in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer until it becomes a light syrup, 
stirring frequently.
3. Add semolina, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, 
stirring frequently, until the semolina is absorbs most of the liquid 
and is tender, about 15 minutes.
4. Stir in saffron and almonds.
5. Put it in a dish and sprinkle over it the like of pounded sugar
6. Make into hazelnut-sized balls.

ANAHITA'S NOTES:

Pure unsweetened pomegranate juice is available at health food stores 
and Middle Eastern markets.

I LOVE to drink pure unsweetened pomegranate juice, but i find the 
flavor a bit strong when eating a bowl of this, so i cook it with 2/3 
juice and 1/3 water.

I actually add the rosewater with the saffron and almonds, so that it 
doesn't vaporize.

The recipe doesn't specify whether the almonds are whole or ground. I 
would assume whole, but often after feasts i have ground almonds 
leftover, so i use them in this recipe so they don't go to waste.

I don't make this into sugar coated balls. I eat a bowlful of it with 
a spoon and a cup of coffee :-)